‘Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.’
Information Security will be an integral driver in the FinTech space in 2016 and well beyond, suggests Julian Plummer – Managing Director of financial planning software provider, Midwinter. Quoting Andy Grove from Intel, Mr Plummer stated ‘Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.’ in relation to the confidential client data of financial advisers. He advises
January 18, 2016
New commission options provide more choice to advisers
An industry-first customised rate gives advisers a simple solution to select and adjust commission rates and client premiums A new ‘no commission’ wholesale rate with an additional 15 per cent discount for new clients Asteron Life has announced a range of new commission options which can be applied from today*, giving advisers greater flexibility and
January 18, 2016
Helping clients know when enough is enough for retirement
Six years ago, The Retirement Advice Centre’s David Reed noticed something bizarre happening with his clients: they were too scared to retire. It was in the early years after the global financial crisis, and though they’d weathered the crisis well and had reached their financial goal they weren’t willing to give up work. It was
January 17, 2016
Be cautious about TTR strategy and private binding rulings
A leading superannuation lawyer has warned financial planners to tread warily when it comes to creating strategies for clients that rely on other people’s private binding tax rulings. A director of DBA Lawyers, Bryce Figot, says a strategy currently generating a high level of interest among financial planners involves someone aged under 60 receiving a
January 17, 2016
Cheer up! China is slowing but not grinding to a halt
Just as they did last year, China’s volatile stockmarkets have spooked investors all around the world. It’s been a shocking first full week of 2016 and a worrying portent of returns for the year as a whole if you believe the moderately compelling long-run evidence that January sets the tone for the next 11 months.
January 17, 2016
HUB24 reports record inflows for the second quarter
Quarterly business update Highlights • Record quarterly gross inflows to HUB24’s investment and superannuation platform of $403m – up 78.3% on pcp and net inflows of $331m • Total funds under administration (FUA) of $2.37bn at 31 December 2015 • Launch of International managed portfolios in December 2015 • Secured white label partnership with Fortnum
January 15, 2016
Record-breaking year predicted for ETFs
The sharemarket’s shaky start in 2016, after falling for the past 11 months, is prompting a surge of investment in exchange traded products (ETPs) that may exceed $8 billion in 2016. Low return expectations are prompting investors to seek low cost and transparent portfolios. Arian Neiron, Managing Director, Van Eck Australia, expects investment in ETPs
January 15, 2016
Can a churn ever be in a client’s best interests?
An independent adviser approached Dover Legal with an interesting question. (This is not unusual, by the way. Many of Dover Legal’s clients are not Dover advisers.) The adviser’s client, a 40-year-old executive on a salary of about $400,000 a year was paying about $12,000 a year for risk insurance premiums. There was nothing wrong with
January 14, 2016
SMSF trustees assume advice is sound but want greater communication
Financial planners with technical competence and sound knowledge can’t always translate that know-how into the best interests of their clients – and sessions at the 2016 Self-Managed Super Fund Association (SMSFA) conference next month aim to address that shortcoming. “It’s a conversation with trustees – so it’s not technical at all, and it’s really about
January 14, 2016
Large, medium and small super funds of the year: shortlists revealed
Conexus Financial has revealed shortlists for the large, medium and small fund categories ahead of the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards at the Crown Palladium, Melbourne, on March 3, 2016. Large super funds are defined as those that have more than $10 billion in assets; medium super funds as those between $5 billion and $10 billion;
January 14, 2016
OneVue’s share purchase plan (SPP) strongly supported by retail investors
The Share Purchase Plan (SPP) announced on 9 December 2015 closed on 11 January 2016 with $6.38 million in applications. This significantly exceeded the $2.5m original offer. The retail investor backing was widespread with over 50% of OneVue’s retail shareholders applying for additional shares. Following the recent highly successful share placement to institutional investors the
January 14, 2016
Emerging markets: the optimistic view
With all the gloom and doubt surrounding China and other emerging market economies, Portfolio Manager of the Van Eck Emerging Markets Equity Strategy, David Semple, remains optimistic that 2016 will end well. “We anticipate better economic numbers out of China and at least we have started down the journey of Fed tightening. A combination of
January 14, 2016
